Large umbrellas are commonly used at beaches and other outdoor recreational areas to provide protection from sun. At times, winds can topple or dislodge an umbrella. Attempts to remedy this problem include the use of spikes, threads or flanges to anchor the umbrella into the underlying surface. However, such structures may not be completely reliable in situations where winds are very high and/or the surface is of a consistency, such as fine and powdery, that does not attach securely to the structures.
Several other methods are available for anchoring umbrellas. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,877 discloses a beach umbrella anchor bag having a bottom opening. The bag is placed on an underlying surface with the bottom opening in contact with the underlying surface. The bottom opening allows an umbrella shaft or pole to be inserted therethrough into the underlying surface. The bag is filled with a material to provide weight, and attached to the umbrella shaft by panels of hook and loop material. One panel, e.g., the loop material, is affixed to the umbrella shaft with the loop surface exposed, and one or more panels of mating material, e.g., the hook material, are affixed to the bag. However, the bag is necessarily large and, if the opening in the bottom of the bag is sufficiently large, material that is inside the bag to provide weight may leak out, either gradually or suddenly if the umbrella is displaced such as by a strong wind.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,893 discloses a container in the form of a beach bag that is affixed to a beach umbrella by a flexible cable member to anchor the umbrella. The beach bag may be filled with sand to provide weight for anchoring the umbrella. If the bag has sufficient weight, the umbrella may be prevented from blowing away. However, the disclosure fails to show how the umbrella can be prevented by the bag from being toppled.
A need remains for methods and devices for anchoring umbrellas, particularly beach umbrellas, so that they remain substantially in a desired position when subjected to moderate winds.